Background Articles

Climate change is affecting nearly every aspect of life, said Gwich’in Council International board member Evon Taa’ąįį Peter, who is Neetsaii Gwich’in and Koyukon Athabascan. For one thing, he told ICT, more than 60% of the forest lands of the Alaskan Gwich’in nation have burned in wildfires in the past 10 years. As of July 10, 582,000 acres had burned this year in 328 wildfires in Alaska. “I couldn’t open the windows of my house for seven days straight, I think, because it would just let smoke billow into my home, which was already too unhealthy for us to be outside. So most of us just had to remain indoors…so there’s definitely very real dramatic and in-our-face impacts from climate change across the state, even in (an urban area like) Fairbanks,” Peter said.

With the future of fossil fuels in question, an Australian oil company is branding its new Arctic development as climate-friendly.

A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui has found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health.

Canada's record wildfires contribute significantly to global non-tropical tree cover loss, with implications for climate change and biodiversity.

An $11 million study, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant, will investigate the feasibility of a new coal power plant in Alaska with carbon capture and storage technology.

Eleven individuals from Think Pink are charged in Sweden's largest environmental crime case for illegally dumping waste, causing fires and toxic leaks.

Alaska's U.S. senators oppose the EPA's move to regulate and phase out leaded aviation gasoline, citing potential negative impacts on the state's travel and economy.

Alaska Airlines is promoting Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional mileage runs, though its effectiveness depends on production methods and it's not yet widely adopted or cost-competitive.